Monarchos' bid is `dead meat'

Derby winner has rough time on Pimlico track

BALTIMORE — Early in the Preakness Stakes, Monarchos' trainer had an inkling that it was going to be a dog day afternoon for his Kentucky Derby winner.

"The first time by the wire, I knew we were dead meat," John Ward said Saturday after the race. "I had a terrible feeling in the first turn. He didn't seem to be taking to the track. He was uncomfortable.

"He fought the racetrack the whole way. He's very fatigued in his shoulders and rear end."

Chavez, aboard Monarchos, returned to the scene of the most bizarre incident of his career. Two years ago on Preakness day, Chavez was riding Artax in the Maryland Breeders' Cup Handicap. Suddenly, as Artax raced down the stretch, Chavez was stunned to see a man on the track.

Chavez yanked on the reins, sending Artax to the inside in a successful attempt to avoid the man. The intruder, who'd walked onto the track from the infield, then took a swing at Artax. He missed the horse but grazed the jockey's boot.

"It's like a bad dream," Chavez said.

Payback time: Victor Espinoza was replaced by Jerry Bailey as the rider of Congaree following the colt's third-place finish in the Derby but found Preakness employment as the jockey of A P Valentine.

How did Espinoza feel when A P Valentine thrust his neck in front of Congaree at the wire to finish second in the Preakness?

"It feels great," Espinoza said. "Better than winning the race."

An upper: A P Valentine's second-place finish after a trouble-packed seventh-place effort in the Kentucky Derby was testament to the unwavering confidence that trainer Nick Zito has shown in the son of 1992 Belmont winner and Horse of the Year A P Indy.

"This is as good a horse as I've ever trained," said Zito, who has trained Kentucky Derby winners Strike the Gold and Go for Gin and Preakness winner Louis Quatorze. "He was full of run in the Derby and had no place to go. He has come back to show the kind of horse that he is. I'm very thankful that he ran as strong a second as he did.

"Now, he's back on track for the Belmont."

Classic collection: The Preakness victory was the seventh conquest in a Triple Crown race for Point Given's jockey, Gary Stevens, who returned to riding on Oct. 4 after retiring on Dec. 26, 1999. He previously won the 1988 Derby on Winning Colors, the 1995 Derby and Belmont on Thunder Gulch, the 1997 Derby and Preakness on Silver Charm and the 1998 Belmont on Victory Gallop.

Good enough: Bay Eagle, the 80-1 long shot finished eighth. That was good enough for jockey Ramon Dominguez. "It was a good effort by him. He beat three horses," Dominguez said.

The bottom lines: Point Given, who has finished first or second in nine of his 10 starts, kicked back payoffs of $6.60, $5 and $4 as the Preakness favorite.

Preakness betting at Maryland and out-of-state locations was $36,445,762, most money wagered in the 126-year history of the race.